Speakers rail at 'curse' of casinos

MILFORD — They may have been preaching to the choir, but a panel of casino critics found a receptive audience in Milford.

More than 250 people packed St. Mary's Parish Hall Wednesday night to mobilize against a $1 billion resort casino proposed by Foxwoods off Route 16 near Interstate 495.

Voters will have their say Nov. 19 on a host community agreement approved 2-1 by the Board of Selectmen Sept. 9, which would provide the town at least $31 million annually plus $32 million up front.

"To quote my grandson, OMG!" said Steven Trettel, co-chairman of Casino-Free Milford, which hosted the rally, as he looked over the crowd.

Keynote speaker Robert H. Steele, a marketing executive, former congressman from Essex, Conn., and author of a novel, "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town," told the crowd that while his book is fictional, it's a cautionary tale.

" 'The Curse' is about a small, quintessential New England town that must choose between conserving its values and an enormously seductive proposal that will change the town forever," Mr. Steele said.

Casino gambling came to Connecticut with the opening of Foxwoods in 1992 and Mohegan Sun in 1996, which Mr. Steele said quickly grew to the two largest casinos on the planet, with 20,000 jobs and billions to Connecticut's coffers.

But the windfall didn't last. Competition from other states drew gamblers away, and questionable fiscal management ate up profits.

"Foxwoods, you know, is deeply in debt because of gross over-expansion," he said.

Mr. Steele said Connecticut now has the highest debt per capita in the United States, and it is the only state to have negative economic growth.

The costs have outweighed the benefits at least 3 to 1, he said.

Besides the fiscal fallout, Mr. Steele said, "The casinos' presence has created a pervasive gambling culture in southeastern Connecticut."

He cited drunken-driving arrests that have more than doubled in nearby Norwich. Arrests for embezzlement have increased by 400 percent, earning the region from a columnist the moniker "the embezzlement capital of America."

Schools had to absorb more than 400 children who spoke some 27 different languages.

He said, "Casinos have done little or nothing to create spin-off businesses, but have instead cannibalized local business."

Mr. Steele said 80 percent of casino profits come from people who are compulsive gamblers, particularly on slot machines, which are designed to be highly addictive.

As more states in the Northeast license casinos, drawing customers away from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, Connecticut is considering legalizing online casino gambling to keep its revenue up. Mr. Steele equated this to "opening a 24-hour casino in every house, every apartment, every dorm room in the state of Connecticut."

Alan Cabot, a West Springfield casino opponent who helped defeat Hard Rock International's host community agreement with that city recently, told Milford residents to expect a sophisticated, well-financed campaign to promote the casino.

He said Hard Rock spent $3 million to $4 million on West Springfield's referendum, compared with the $15,000 spent by casino opponents.

Selectman William D. Buckley, the board's chairman, who did not sign the host community agreement with Foxwoods, said, "Make sure you get out the vote. This is a David and Goliath scenario."

He said, "For the record, I'm not anti-casino. I'm pro-Milford."

Mr. Buckley encouraged residents to respectfully speak to their neighbors and "work hard to get that one more vote."

If the agreement is approved by a majority of voters, it would still have to receive two-thirds majority approval for a zoning change at town meeting. Town meeting members must vote according to their precinct's leaning, he said.

State Rep. John V. Fernandes, D- Milford, who said he hasn't taken a position on the casino, told the audience not to count on state-level politics to deny a license for Milford. "This is a nonpolitical process," he said.

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com and follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG